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Summary: Don't let anyone fool you, this is a long cry from Tolkien
Review: As a devout Tolkien fan, I've looked long and hard for a book that can grip my imagination like any of the famous Lord of the Rings trilogy. I thought I'd found the cure to my fever when I purchased this book that was glorified as "a classic of high fantasy...compared to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and C.S. Lewis's Narnia stories." I was well disappointed.As I trudged through the story of Ged the boring one dimentional wizard who is always glum, I began to realize that I may never find a story that satisfies my need to replace Bilbo, Frodo or Gandalf. There is no development of other characters in Wizard of Earthsea. Only an agonizing depiction of a wizard who chases his shadow day after day. However, there is one bright light for this story (the reason I was able to give it 2 stars), it's well written. That in itself is a rarity these days. If you are looking for an engaging story, I recommend skipping the Earthsea trilogy and trying something fresh with George R.R. Martin's trilogy starting with A Game of Thrones. Although the tiny Earthsea books are easier to carry around with you than the mammoth Game of Thrones or Clash of Kings, you'll be much more satisfied in the end!
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Summary: Why do schools require these sort of books?
Review: This book kept trying to make me think about the power of language, the balance of good and evil,and being responsible. Because of those reasons, I wanted stop reading it at page34, but unfortunetly it was required for school. Why can't a book be both preachy and entertaining? The only time I sit down and ponder the theme of a book is when the story didn't need the theme and was just intresting itself.This book failed at that. The plot of this book is also lame. Its about a young powerfull wizard who unleashes something terrible unto the world and goes hunting after it. Nothing else happens except this part involving dragons.
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Summary: Classic fantasy
Review: This is one of the classics of the genre, and a mini-masterpiece that deftly avoids the weaknesses of all the overblown epics being published today. The story is unconventional enough to keep one guessing until the end, and the writing is quite beautiful. This book stands as a lasting example of how to write a meaningful, entertaining fantasy without simply being a Tolkien ripoff.
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Summary: This book changed my life...
Review: It may sound crazy, but I first read the Earthsea trilogy when I was in sixth grade. I have read all four of the Earthsea books at least once a year since then and, when people ask me what got me interested in literature, so interested that I'm now studying for my PhD, I tell them it was this book. Enough said.
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Summary: Returning Reader
Review: I read this trilogy when I was in eighth grade. The books were by far some of my favorites during my junior high years. I am now almost 30 and have enjoyed re-reading them. The stories are enthralling. I love that the wizard grows older and matures throughout the books. In the end he is wiser and so am I. Dive into the Wizard of Earthsea books. They are well worth your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Are we reading the same book?
Review: I heard all these excellent reviews of Le Guinn's "Earthsea" books. I read it and thought, "Is this the same book that all these people have read?" It was stupid. I mean, it was better than anything Terry Goodkind and Terry Brooks could ever hope to write, but that's not sayig much. Then I re-read it to catch this big deep underlying theme. There wasn't any. Or, at least, not any worth reading. If your a fan of Tolkien, Lewis, Jordan, or Feist, don't waste your time on "EathSea."
Rating: 
Summary: The first in amazing world of earthsea
Review: I have all four of the earthsea books, and have to say that the first one is the best. We are introduced to the major character in the series, Ged, and his beginnings to becoming an archmage. I remember reading this many years ago in high school and just being in rapture while reading it. The chasing of the shadow...very metaphorical. Although the next 3 in the series only get 3 stars from me, this one is definately a 4.
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Summary: An interesting look at magic
Review: This is my first adventure into the writing of Le Guin, and it was certainly worth it. The magic is unique. Instead of your standard 'Abracadabra' with a wave of a magic wand or a twist of willpower from a special 'kind' of person, a mage has to TRULY understand the object of his wizardry. The world is also believable. I've read books where the author made the whole world seem smaller than Chicago, and other books where the world seemed bigger than the galaxy, but very few authors I've run across that can do both at once. Earthsea is a vast place where the peoples of different lands are inextricably tied together, resulting in a believable vision of a reasonably sized world. My only objection would be that magic comes a little too easily to Ged. He's just a bit too much of a natural, with no particular area where he excels or struggles. He is just THAT good.
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Summary: Worth a short visit.
Review: This is the first Le Grin book I've read for many years. WhileI don't remember the details of the earlier books, I do remember thefeeling I had entering her world. And the blend of moral insight, magical powers and occult dangers seems like a familiar and slightly disquieting scent. Le Grin undoubtedly is a skilled myth-maker. Her protagonist is a young man who is learning to use his magical powers. Her world is sparsely but I think rather well realized. (Her maps are more real-looking than Tolkien's.) The outline of the book is rather similar to the great Chinese classic Journey to the West: a hero of great power overreaches himself and is forced to set out on a journey to learn (among other things) humility and self-control. Along the way Le Grin drops the reader thoughts to chew on for a while. "Magic consists in this: the true naming of a thing." (How does that apply to modern genetics?) "The price of the game is the peril of losing one's self." (True whether the game is business, the occult, or modern science.) The ease with which Le Grin's hero, Ged, works magic, I think, threatens the plot and the imaginable quality of her world sometimes. Ged flits from island to island so easily that the world becomes rather too dream-like. He is in danger of becoming too strong to have adventures. The story is about his taming to good, like the Monkey King. Yet one gets the feeling that in Le Grin's world, evil is ultimately stronger. Perhaps this is why her world feels less real, and less enjoyable, to me than those of Tolkien or Lewis, based on a Christian psychology, or that of Journey to the West, based on a rather cheerful Buddhism. Nor do I think her insight or imagination can really be compared with Tolkien in Lord of the Rings or Lewis in Till We Have Faces. And her world seems to have less humor than the other three. While I enjoyed the creative realization of her story, and felt as if she were bringing me near to some depths of psychological insight, I felt a little dizzy from the journey, and was glad to be back on terra firma. But I'll probably take another short visit before long. author, Jesus and the Religions of Man...
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Summary: The mysteries of Earthsea
Review: This book covers one subject: wizardry. Usula Le Guin writes an incredible tale of a young man who becomes great wizard. She goes into great detail how the world of Earthsea works. A really nice touch is the power of true names.
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